Younis tops Test rankings for the first time

Dubai, Feb 26 (IANS) A triple century by the newly appointed Pakistan captain Younis Khan against Sri Lanka has perched him atop the latest International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test rankings, for the first time. Younis, who hit 313 in the first Test against Sri Lanka, jumped six places to dispatch West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul to second position. Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara is in third place.

Younis is the third Pakistan player to get past the 300-run mark after Hanif Mohammad (337) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (329).

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena’s double hundred in the same match means he stays in fourth position as Australia’s Michael Clarke drops two places to fifth.

Gautam Gambhir, at ninth place, is the only Indian player to figure in the list of top ten Test batsmen. Virender Sehwag is at 11th postion.

Among the bowlers, Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan is still top of the heap with South Africa’s Dale Steyn with a gap of only 17 points, close at his heels. Australia’s Stuart Clark is in third position.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has moved up a place to be at eighth position. Zaheer Khan is not too far behind at 12th position.

There is no change in the rankings of Test all-rounders with South Africa’s Jacques Kallis still leading the pack, followed by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and England’s Andrew Flintoff.